SINGAPORE, 19 January 2011— Jones Lang LaSalle today announced it has launched a website (www.LeaseAccountingChanges.com) to deliver leading-edge strategies, tools, and information to help corporations worldwide navigate the upcoming changes in global lease accounting treatment.

Designed to improve transparency and eliminate off-balance sheet obligations, the new regulations being introduced by the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and its counterpart, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) will fundamentally alter the impact of leases on organizations’ income statements and balance sheets.

In a recent Jones Lang LaSalle poll of corporate real estate executives in Asia Pacific, 70% said that they are unaware or unprepared for the changes. In addition, 42% said that their team does not have the financial knowledge it needs to manage the impacts to their real estate portfolios.

The new website will enable companies to better understand how these changes will affect them, as well as how to develop a plan for preparing for "Day 1" impact by integrating and aligning their strategic planning and portfolio strategy.

“The new lease accounting standards will dramatically impact every organization that holds a lease, and will have important ramifications across all corporate functions, from corporate real estate and finance to technology and human resources,” said David Brown, Head of Lease Administration, Asia Pacific for Jones Lang LaSalle. “Organizations around the globe are rethinking their lease administration strategies in light of these changes, and this new website will provide actionable tools and information to help them formulate robust strategies to support successful compliance.”

Though the new lease accounting rules are expected to go into effect no sooner than January 1, 2013, given the need to report two prior years’ comparative information Jones Lang LaSalle is urging companies to begin to prepare immediately, particularly for businesses that draw heavily on lease arrangements.

The increased level of detail that companies will need to address will lead to a significant shift in resourcing, data and information management and reporting, with a profound increased administrative burden on lease management.

“We cannot overestimate the sweeping change these rules will bring to nearly all global corporations, transforming lease accounting from its historical position as a back-office function into a fundamental element of strategic portfolio planning,” said Mr Brown. “As a leading-edge global real estate services firm, we continue to develop winning strategies for corporations to reduce costs and improve productivity within a rapidly changing business landscape, and helping our clients navigate through the new rules is a top priority.”

“By understanding and quantifying the impact of how negotiated lease terms will drive the balance sheet and income statement under the new rules, and, concurrently, re-evaluating desired lease structures and the principles for lease vs. own decision-making, a company can gain a long-term advantage within this new accounting landscape,” He said.

The new rules will affect all companies reporting under either International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) or US GAAP including all US-based companies, most European Union-based companies and in Asia Pacific, any company based in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Japan or Korea where conformity to IFRS is or will be followed.

Jones Lang LaSalle has been the leading provider of client direction about managing the real estate impacts of the lease accounting changes. One area facing the greatest impact is lease administration, which Jones Lang LaSalle has been managing for clients for nearly two decades. Within the last five years, its lease administration business has continued to grow, providing a range of services from data management to full financial scope lease administration services for more than 70,000 corporate sites and $6.7 billion in managed spend.